Xanadu Weyr - Craft Complex
The large area has been separated into a variety of smaller sitting areas, couches and chairs organized into rings and squares, tables set where they can be used easily. A few desks for studying are pushed against one wall, while another has a variety of doors spaced along side it, opening into private quarters for the ranking crafters posted at the weyr. A set of double doors opens to the general apprentice dorms, and a long hallway stretches outwards, providing access to the various workshops.
The complex chamber has a low whispering hum, as people work and study quieetly. Every so often hushed whispers add to the ambiant noises that include the occassional chair scrape of book snapping shut. Off to the side, way back in the corner, Kera has staked claimed to 'her' out of the way study nook. A huge manual is standing on end, open in front of the apprentice. A small plate of cookies is across the table, just within reach. Every so often, Kera's head slips above the top of the book, eyes darting here and there before she slips back down out of sight. Occassionally a hand reaches out blindly feeling for the plate and a cookie.
There's supposed to be a radio stationed in the tech workshop with whatever journeyman's there and on-call for technical issues. Only, today it didn't check in! Well, there's a procedure for that, just call the techcrafter… on duty… for… …well. Revised procedure: send the gold weyrling who's shadowing a shift on the radio down to the tech shop to see what's going on. Hey, it'll be useful for her to meet the techies, right? And she can tell them their radio's not working. So Soriana went there and did that, and discovered that the issue was less tech-nical and more tech-nician. Someone got distracted by a project and forgot to actually turn on the radio. So! Problem: solved. Checkin: made. Gold weyrling: emerging from the tech workshop and starting across the complex. She pauses as a busy group of 'pprentices are herded along by their journeyman, stepping into an alcove and… oh, hey. There's already someone here. So… she steps further aside, and pulls out a second chair from the table. "Hey."
Crumbs are swiped into a pile and nudged to the side as Kera continues to study. If she stares at this chart long enough, it just /might/ start to make some kinda sense. Nibbling on her cookie, the apprentice's head pops up at the nearby voice and chair scraping. Seeing the Weyrling she irritated, the girl's eyes widen quickly and she ducks back down as if that will keep her from being spotted. Silly little apprentice. You've already been seen. Banging her head on the table briefly, she finally rises back where she can be seen. "Um, G'day. Is,..Is something wrong?" Chewing on her bottom lip briefly she sighs. "That waitress assured me the orders were very fresh."
Soriana lowers herself into the chair, and… watches, with an expression that starts perplexed and drifts toward bemused as the show continues. Hiding. Head-banging. (She heard the thump.) This is… something. She doesn't know what, but it's definitely something. Soriana smiles to Kera as she finally emerges. It's a genuine sort of smile. An amused one, even. "Is there?" she asks, her tone a mild one. "I did want to thank you for the baklava. You've got a good eye for sweets, I see." She gives a glance and a tilt of her head to the plate of cookies, still smiling.
Kera 's brow lifts when her own question is repeated back to her. She gives it a few seconds thought before finally giving her head a tiny shake, still unsure what drew the Weyrling over to her table. Watching the Weyrling a moment, she finally seems to relax and her shoulders lower just a hint as she snorts. "Ya lucky got any with the way that scruffy looking rider was scarfing them down before I knew what was happening." Kera gives a slight eye roll over that as she nudges the small cookie plate closer to the Weyrling, fingers wiggle in an offering gesture. "Im glad ya like it though. No doubt one or two probably think I poisoned them." She huffs over that thought halfheartedly scans the page, hoping another glancce will unlock the secrets the chart holds.
Soriana grins at the tale of the scruffy rider pastry-thief. "We do feed them in the caverns. Promise!" She hehs, and adds, "At least, when they remember to come by and eat something. They don't, always." Even the ones who work ever so nearby, but she doesn't get started on that one right now. Instead, she reaches her fingers toward the plate… then pauses, with them extended but not quite taking one yet. "I don't think so," she says, and her gaze is steady on Kera. "I do think you've rubbed some people the wrong way. Sometimes people take things differently depending on who says them." A smile touches her lips again. "Like a scruffy rider eating your baklava instead of who you meant."
Kera normally would be agreeably, but not today, this time she gives a negative shake of her head "You just wait, that brownling is already convinced I go around hurting people every chance I get." Okay, so some of what Kera is refering to was shroom induced rantings, but he still said them, and Kera still heard them. Damage done, end of story. Her fingers thump the page, as if that will loosen any knowledge it has to give. Finally turning her gaze back up to Soriana again she does finally give an agreeable nod. "I didn't really get on with people at the Hall either. Luckily, I got lots of books to keep me company." Grabbing up another cookie and using it to wave off her own issues, she. "So how are you and..Luroath doing today? Any obstacle coarses that need doing?" She stumbles a bit trying to say the queen's name but gives a cheeky wink after her comment.
Soriana gives her head a shake in return. Her mouth's a neutral line now, firm or stubborn depending on the reading. "Mur'dah knows perfectly well what hurtful people are actually like." She picks up the cookie she's been reaching for, holding it as she regards Kera for a moment before continuing. "Now, what he might think is that you're careless and get too swept away by a joke to realize it's not funny to other people. Which, well. It's always awkward when nobody laughs, hmm?" Now she offers a smile, a rueful sort of one, and takes a small bite of the cookie. Just a small one, and then she nods to Kera. "Luraoth and I are doing well. None of the outdoor obstacle courses, but…" A playful smile. "Maybe if we count hopping through all the radio callsigns?"
Kera seems a little confused by some of what Soriana says but will give it thought later. She nibbles quietly on her cookie, and absentmindedly fiddles with her braid, a nervous habit she seems to have. With a little smile the apprentice leans forward to slouch down onto the table "Well, I appologize for offending you. I didn't mean to." Not having anything else to add she's grateful for the topic change. Her head cants a bit and she seems puzzled "How do you jump them?" After a few seconds, she cracks a grin and winks.
Soriana makes no effort to explain herself further. Not right now, anyhow. She's on to being smiles. "You're forgiven. It was just sort of a sensitive subject." Still with the smile, she continues, "It's usually a good idea not to talk about healer stuff outside the infirmary. You… well." A brief laugh. "You don't tend to see people at their best." And perhaps that will be a part of Kera's later thoughts as well. For now… radio obstacle courses. Yes indeed. She grins. "Really, it's more that the needle jumps, and then you'd better hop to it!"
Kera grins and nods as she gets what Soriana was refering to. "Ah, clever." Popping the last bit of her cookie in her mouth, she slips a bookmark between pages and closes the book. Setting it on the stack to her side, the apprentice scrub at her eyes before blinking a time or two with a chuckle. "Too much reading at once makes my eyes go to mush." That just to explain her eye rubbing really. "So you're on Radio Jump duty then. I guess there are worse ways to spend the day."
Soriana has another bite of cookie herself, then laughs. "Some books will keep you up all night, while others… well, they'll put you right to sleep." She takes a peek at the title of the book, even if she can already guess which of the two it's likely to be. (Hint: the worse one!) Speaking of worses… "Oh, there certainly are. It's sort of like infirmary duty - a good day for everyone else means a boring one for you." She grins, then glances out across the complex before adding, "I'm glad I got off it early, though." There's only so much boredom a person can take!
Kera frowns and winces at the mention of a boring day in infirmary "The boring days on duty are the ones that get me in trouble. Sitting there, watching sleeping, snoring patients, waiting…. And the next thing I know I'm waking up to a noggin thumpin wall of irritated Hall or Weyrhealer." Her hand instinctively reaches up to rub at a spot she must have been thumped many times in the past. Kera flashes a rueful grin to the Weyrling. "Ah, so you've a restday now then?" She seems to reconsider her words a moment and gives her head a little shake. "I guess even your restdays aren't really restful are they? I mean, you've all that dragonmate to tend and pamper to yes? That must take up most of the day as is."
"Oh, see, that's when I always got my studying done." Soriana grins. "Best part was, once I finished whatever we were having lessons in, I could generally sneak in anything I wanted as long as it was vaguely related." Independent projects! …which usually turned into research papers anyhow, but at least she had a head start… as opposed to a thump on the head, though she grins at Kera's expression… then sighs. "A rest-hour, perhaps?" Her turn for the rueful grin. "It's true, there's no days off from dragons, but they don't take nearly so much work once they're not babies anymore. There's just plenty of weyrling lessons to fill in all that 'extra' time."
Kera considers what Soriana says and gives an agreeable nod. "Sometimes I do study, but ya reach a point where ya have to put the book down and think about what you've read. Sometimes at least." The apprentice snorts at some thought "Then there are the times ya read so much and the words start rearranging themselves and just making no sense what so ever." She glares at the stack of books as if they have offended her by doing just that before shaking her thoughts away and giving a near embarrassed shrug. Dragging her fingernail aling a worn groove on the tabletop, she cast a curious glance to Soriana. "Do you do lots of studying in your weyrling lessons? Or is most of it seem like physical labor?"
Soriana chuckles, and nods to Kera. Oh, the perils of studying! And sleeping on the job. She leans back in her chair a little, and smiles. "There's a lot of studying, yes. We've got to learn the Weyrs, Holds, and Halls of Pern, their knots, where they are, who's in charge of them, the basics of their history, what the laws are… a rider could end up anywhere, after all. So she's got to know what places are like - and study etiquette so she can keep out of trouble while she's there!"
Kera brows seem to lift a fraction with each listing of what Soriana's lessons. Shaking her head and shifting her slouched position on the table, Kera rest her chin on her upturned palm in a lazy manner. "And here I was feeling a bit over my head with just this grouping of books." Her fingers flick towards the offending stack "Guess I should consider myself lucky I don't have all of that on top of it." She's quiet a moment, as her gaze drifts around the large cavern, A Journeyman nearby signals her to lower her voice, causing the girl to huff silently before peering back to Soriana. "What do you like to do when you have restdays? Besides being annoyed by silly apprentices." She smiles after the near whispered question, that Journeyman is giving her the evil eye, so Kera is being quiet, for the moment.
"Oh, yes." Soriana can't help but be amused at those high-scrunching brows. "Not to mention dragonhealing first aid, reading the weather, and all the active parts…" Like, say, actually riding those dragons of theirs! Y'know. Details like that. Soriana glances over at the glaring journeyman, and smiles that way. Just smiles! It's not like there aren't always people coming through here. Or even taking over some of the couches and having long and argumentative discussions over various points. These two are just talking in a perfectly reasonable tone, that's all. Sothere. Sori looks back to Kera, and continues that conversation. First, a laugh, and then, "Oh, well. Depends on the day. When it's nice out, I like to get out there and see it. Go for a walk, maybe do a little hunting, that sort of thing. The cold grey days, though…" oh hi winter "I usually go for a good game of capture-stone or some drinks by the fire. What about you?"
Kera seems almost horrorfied as Soriana keeps adding more and more things to be learned to her listing. The apprentice lowers her head to the table, covering it with her arms as if to hide, her arms wave about as if fending off each mentioned task like it was divebombing her. "Oh no, make them stop." She stops in a relative short time, don't want that Journeyman to come ask her if she needs to see a mindhealer. Flashing an amused grin up to the Weyrling, she goes back to resting her head on her palm. Kera nods gently against her hand, absorbing what she can learn about the other woman. When Soriana turns the tables and ask her the same, the apprentice shrugs and gestures around the cavern. "When it's cold, I end up reading alot. Sometimes I read books about some of the other crafts, or find a spot near the entrance out of the way and watch the crafters work at the forges, or weaving looms." After a moment she adds "I like to swim..but I think ya knew that already. Gardening, again when it's warm. I've played stones a few times, but not any good at it."
Okay, so maaaybe Soriana was enjoying tormenting Kera with that list of classes. Just a little. It would explain her grin. Whether that's the full set or not, she does stop listing them out. Wouldn't do to drive a healer apprentice crazy. There'd probably be paperwork involved! As Kera explains her own doing, Sori nods. "Reading's good, too. I used to spend a lot of winters curled up under a blanket with a book and a tunnelcat." Her expression turns briefly wistful, and then she chases it away with a shake of her head and turns it to a grin. "I think I did," she says of the swimming. "All those dolphin half-sibs." Siblings in spirit? Or something. "Forges are nice in winter, long's you stay out of the way. Some of the journeymen don't like gawkers."
Kera chuckles with a knowing nod "Yea, the ones I can't tell apart, that'ld be them." When Soriana mentions a tunnelcat, the apprentice gives a conceding dip of her head "The little beasties aren't so bad, it's the bigger ones I ran to the Hall to get away from. Cleaning up after sick runners, heardbeasts and worse just isn't my idea of a swell time." And cleaning up after sick people is sooo much better? Well, quite simply, yea. At least people can tell you they are sick to begin with. Soriana is given a considering look before Kera pipes up once more. "Maybe sometime you can show me how to actually play stones. Or at least give me a few pointers so I might actually make a decent showing occcassionally?"
"I've had a tunnelcat since I was… oh, nine turns old. Name's Inkfoot." Soriana grins fondly, though there's a touch of that wistfulness again. Time, it has a way of passing. "Just the one." And much smaller than those herdbeasts and runners! "Well. There are worse things than mucking the stables." She grins. "Not many of them, admittedly, but there are!" Maybe Kera will get lucky and not have to do them. Soriana takes another nibble of her cookie, then smiles. "Sure! I'm hardly an expert player, but I can probably help you along to where you can at least lose interestingly." A grin. "One of the guards I used to play with told me that. Doesn't matter if you win, so long as you make the game interesting, they'll keep coming back for more." She hehs. "Usually after he beat me for the tenth time in a row."
Kera nods thoughtfully as she considers the bit of wisdom. "That makes sense….even if you win, tisn't fun if you are bored doing it." Another moment is given to consider that before tucking it away for later thought. Peering to the Weyrling, she breaks into a grin "So really, my task won't be to learn to play well, it will be how to lose with style?" Something else tugs at her brain and she leans up a with a little frown. "Since you were nine.." she mumbles a bit as she recalls something "That's not that many turns ago is it? What happen to the tunnelcat?"
Soriana grins, and nods. "Exactly! There can only be one winner, but there can be as many stylish people as… well, as there are people." Like she's one to talk about style, given her tendency to wear practical trousers and shirts in colors that won't show the dirt, but hey. Maybe she knows something she doesn't show, or maybe she just figures panache isn't the same as appearances. At the question about the tunnelcat, she tilts her head. "Hmm? Oh. He's fine, I've still got him." Though he is getting rather old. "I just don't have nearly the time to spend with him I once did, that's all."
Kera ahs softly "Still slinking around, could be anywhere then." She flashes a gaze here and there as if the little creature will pop up at any second. She's only playing around though before grinning back to the Weyrling. "Does he get along with your dragonmate and smaller friends?" Knowing how quick and sneaky the little buggers can be she smiles, glad for the distraction from her studies.
Soriana laughs. "Well, yes, but I don't expect you'll find him in your stew-bowl anytime soon." But what does she know? "He and Toral - that's my brown firelizard - get along great. I think Toral thinks he's a tunnelcat himself, sometimes. Most of the time lately, it's the two of the curled up together. Haruhi doesn't pay him much mind either way, and Luraoth likes watching him." She tilts her head at Kera, curious. "So, not much for animals yourself, huh?"
Kera can't help but chuckle at the image Soriana's words put in her head, which she gives a little amused shake. "Oh, it's not that, just when I was little, the animals didn't stick around that long. Once da healed them they went back off to whoever brought them to be tended. I liked helping with the little ones, but not the big ones." She gives a little shrug, when ya are little most animals are 'the big ones'. "And the last couple of turns at the Hall, not many small animals there when ya need to be concentrating on your lessons." She's an odd one alright, a Beastcrafter's kid that had no pet of her own growing up. Kera just smiles and shrugs it off though.
Soriana nods understandingly. "I've never really had many, myself. All my mom's runners, of course, but that's not really the same thing. Just Inkfoot, and then my firelizards." Which aren't entirely the same thing either. Soriana opens her mouth as if to say more, then pauses with a glance to the ceiling. "Speaking of lessons, there's one I'd better get to." Dragons! They're like alarm clocks sometimes. She shakes her head ruefully, then smiles as she rises to her feet. "It was good running into you." And she snags another cookie for the road, too!
Kera grins and nods her head quickly when Soriana seems to understand exactly what she meant. When the weyrling rises, Kera sits up quickly, wondering what's wrong then relaxes when it seems the weyrling is being called "Ahh. Okie. It was nice speaking with you Soriana." Wiggling her fingers to the departing rider "Enjoy your lessons." Was that sarcasm? Probably.